If you are even remotely interested in ultra marathon cycling or performance recumbents in general, you’d have to have been living under a very large rock to have not heard of John and Jacquie Schlitter. John was one of the founders of Bacchetta, has competed in Race Across America (RAAM) multiple times and has more race wins than you can possibly count. Jacquie ain’t no slouch either. She has also competed in RAAM and has held numerous distance records. Now the human powered racing world’s power couple has teamed up with industrial designer and fellow long distance cyclist, Julien Mauroy, and put their talents towards creating their own brand. Their first offering is the Schlitter Encore.

Schlitter’s mission sounds like an impossible one. They set out to make a custom carbon fiber highracer that was fast, versatile and cost about the same as the average aluminum recumbent. Oh… And they came up with a new cockpit design that no one had tried before while they were at it. That’s a very tall order for your first time out, but they’ve done it. The full carbon Encore is custom built for the individual customer, can accept several different wheelsizes, can use caliper or disc brakes and retails for well under $3000. Read More »

Just received this new carbon fiber Schlitter Encore today. It’s one of the most highly anticipated performance recumbents that I can remember. First impressions are that it handles superbly, is very quiet, very comfortable and very fast. Hard to believe it only costs $2850. Ogle at these photos. (The odd marks on the frame are reflective which is a very cool touch.)